Recent grad brightens store’s online pull

AVON — After six years behind the counter at The Sun Store in Avon, former employee Heather Cachat headed off to The Ohio State University.

But now she’s back, and she’s a partner in the store.

Cachat said the turnabout came after she graduated and stopped by to visit with the store’s owner, Tracy Adkins. The meeting ended in a collaboration as the two decided to revamp the place, add services and embark on a new marketing plan.

That grand opening took place in late October, and even before it opened, the plans that Cachat put into place — she earned a marketing degree, after all — were paying off.

She said that part of the marketing plan is to take advantage of the Internet and social media, like Facebook and Twitter. “On our Facebook page we got 100 friends on the first day. I was shocked,” she said. Cachat also has a new Web site up and running that will feature pictures and specials.

“My side is all marketing,” she said. “I love the researching aspect and marketing in general.”

New services include spray tanning and a nail technician. Cachat said that spray tanning is all the rage.

“It’s huge, very big right now,” she said.

They will be using air brushing, which Cachat said is “very natural” doesn’t leave an orange tint, and only takes about 15 minutes to do.

“Instant gratification,” she said of the procedure, which lasts about seven to 12 days depending on person’s skin type and includes free touchups. “It is another option for those that are concerned about UV light.”

Adkins said that tanning can make a person feel better, particularly around this time of year.

“This time of year, people are more susceptible to getting seasonal affective disorder (SAD). A benefit to using indoor tanning as the means of increasing UV exposure for SAD is that a tan may make a person feel better about their appearance and can be an additional treatment for this seasonal depression,” she said.

What The Sun Store isn’t changing is its customer service, which Cachat feels benefits from being a local salon.

“One of the benefits of The Sun Store is that it is a smaller salon, people keep coming to us because we are very personal,” she said. “We get to know the clients, sit and talk with them and customize what they need.”

The changes are the result of a changing economic climate.

“A lot has happened during the past six years,” Cachat said. “There is more competition now and, more recently, the salon took a major revenue hit during the Detroit Road construction, We want to let (people) know that we are still here, we have revamped, and that they should stop back in.”